Coming Home
by Xalcry
Summary: Childhood sweet hearts were absorbed in the raptures of their love until one radio announcement sends the lovers apart.It was 1941 and World War II had finally begun. Sora and Roxas elist, leaving thier loves behind to protect their home. For them.
1. Finally

It's been four long, hellish years, but I'm finally coming home. I wonder if she'll be there at the dock when I get there. Maby Namine will be there with her. It would be good for her to get out and about. It would do her good. Being home with a baby during that time must have been hard.

I pull a picture out of my left pocket and gaze at it. Longing and happiness almost overwhelmed me. It's been so long. Four years, And now, the day has finally come. Not too much longer now, and the eyes that I gaze into will finally gaze back again not in a photograph or in a memory, but here and now. I can see those beautiful blue eyes, framed by beautiful auburn locks and set in beautiful ivory face. I let out a sigh. Kairi. Oh, how I've missed you.

I clamped my hand into a fist as waves rocked the boat again as I'm taken, once again, from my nostalgic state back to this hellish reality. This boat trip is different than the last one. We all knew we were, probably, going off to our deaths, then. Solem looks on our faces and breakfast coming back up to cruely say hello again, for some.

I put the picture back in my left chest pocket when i felt something small, hard, and round. It was small, cheaply made, and was showing its age. It was the toy ring I gave to Kairi when I was six and she was five. You see, that was when Mr. Floppy, her stuffed bunny, married us. Remebering the reception made me chuckle. We played tag, Kairi, Namine, Roxas and I. I went to tag Kairi when I tripped over my own feet, knocking her over, and sending us both down the hill and into the pond. I can still hear that musical laughter of hers as we layed at the edge of the pond. That started a splash war.

I can't believe she's stayed with me all these years. No, Mr. Floppy's presiding over our wedding didn't hold. She's been a best friend since childhood and into middle school. She was my first and only crush. And now, we've been dating since Junior year in highschool, despite my spikey bowl cut.

Yes, my hair defied the laws of physics then, too.

I placed the rinf back in the pocket and patted the pocket below it. The box was still there. I smiled slightly. It took me almost a year's salary, but I got it. A modest diamond ring. I was going to give it to her on our aniversary, but I was deployed the week before. I couldn't give it to her before I left. Why build up her hopes only to have me die. I couldn't do that to my Kairi.

I took the photgraph out and gazed at it again, reminiscing in the memories it conjurs.


	2. I love the Ferris Wheel

"I can't believe she said yes," I said, still awe- struck Kairi agreed to go out with me.

... and Roxas ... and Namine ...

Roxas pushed my shoulder slightly. "I can. She's as crazy about you as you are her." With a smirk he added, "Tho I don't know why." I jokingly punched his shoulder. He chuckled. "Hey now, don't hit the driver."

Roxas borrowed his dad's car for the evening. He and Namine were dubling with Kairi and me. I still can't believe she said yes.

We pulled up to a little yellow house and Kairi and Namine came ouit shortly after we stopped. Namine wore a white dress and Kairi wore a light pink dress. Man, she looked beautiful. They hopped into the back seat and we left.

"Where are we going, Roxas?" Namine asked.

"The fair," Roxas replied.

"Yay!" Namine exclaimed.

"Let's go on the bumper cars first," Kairi said.

"You ladies are goin' down, I'm affraid. Ya can't touch this," Roxas said cockily. Chuckling when he recieved a playful punch in hte shoulder from Kairi. "Don't hit the driver. I may crash," he said, rubbing his shoulder as if it hurt.

Kairi laughed. God, I love that laugh.

We arrived at the fair shortly after. After Roxas park the car, He took Namine's hand and the two made a bee- line for the bumper cars.

Kairi took my hand. "Let's go, Sora. Don't be such a slow- poke." With that, she rished me to the bumper cars.

When the time came, we each took a different car. I already had my first victem in mind. Roxas, of course.

**BAM!**

"Can't touch you, my ass," I yelled to him. Roxas glared at me with a smirk. Before he could retaliate, Namine rammed into him with her car. He turmed his attention on her. With a smirk from him and a giggle from her, they were off.

**BAM!**

My head jarred and my back slammed back against the seat. I turned to see who hit me. My attacker had smiling blue eyes and an ivory face smiling with laughter. Kairi.

I smirked. "You're gonna pay for that, Riri," I said. She laughed as she drove away. That laugh and smile always have a way of making my heart skip a beat. I snapped out of my daze and raced after her.

**BAM!**

I caught up to her and hit her from behind. She laughed.

Music to my ears.

* * *

After the bumper cars, we played some games. Roxas won Namine a teddy bear for which she awarded him a kiss on the cheek.

Roxas looked at me and nodded his head toward the game. I shook my head. I can't swing the hammer and make the thingy ding the bell. He nodded vehemetly. I sighed. Might as well. Goodbye dignity.

**DING!**

Well, hell. So I can make the thingy ding the bell.

"So's, which one do yas want?" the game worker asked.

I turned to Kairi. "Which one do you want?"

Her eyes widened slightly with surprise. "Really? For me?" I nodded. What else would I do with a stuffed animal?

... Target practice ... Haha.

She smiled. "The puppy dog, please." The worker picked the white and purple dog off the wall and handed it to her. She hugged it and smiled at me.

I'd wear a dress to see her smile like that at me again.

That's right, I'd wear a dress.

When we were done with the games, the girls went to get in line for the ferris wheel. Roxas grabbed my shoulder to keep me back a bit.

"Now, the ferris wheel is the classic date ride. Don't screw it up."

"Thanks for putting your faith in me," I said dryly.

"Not a problem, buddy," he replied.

The girls beckoned us to catch up, so we quit our lagging, since Roxas' pep talk was over, and met up with them right before Roxas and Namine's car came down. They hopped on and left us there. We hopped on ht next one and up we went.

These cars are so tiny. No wonder Roxas said this ride was a date- classic. Boy, did the people across from us know that. Jeez. Who does that in public?

... apparently they do ...

I wasn't comfortable with my arm at my side so I stretched it and placed it along the back of the car behind Kairi.

... behind Kairi?

Oh hell. What did i just do?

Apparently something good since she leaned over and rested her head on my shoulder.

This is nice.

I like ferris wheels now.

"Ferris wheels' number one fan." That is most deffinately me.

Our car eventually reached th stop. And stopped. Roxas gave me a subtle thumbs up.

He did that.

Damn him.

What do I do now?

Kairi straghtened and looked eagerly at the town in the distance, the forest, and everything else around her.

"The view is beautiful up here. Don't you think so, Sora?" She asked, not stopping from looking at the scenery.\

I looked at her. "My view most certainly is beautiful." She looked back to see that I was looking at her. She turned away slightly, her face coloring.

Suave, Sora. Very suave.

I looked forward. Shortly after, I was caught off guard. She turned and quickly kissed my cheek. She colored and looked away again. I could feel the color rising in my own cheeks when the ferris wheelwas put back into motion again.

After we got off the ride, Kairi ran up to Namine and the two walked ahead.

"You look out of it. What happened?" Roxas asked, jabbing me in hte ribs with his elbow.

"She kissed me." I still couldn't believe she did that.

Don't pinch me, I like this dream.

"She did? See, I told ya she liked ya," Roxas said. "Even in middle school when you had that dorky bowl- cut."

"She did?" I completely ignored the hair comment.

"Yeah, don't knowwhy, but she did. Hell, she still does."

I completely ignored his verbal jabs.

"I'm never washing this cheek again."


	3. Bunny? I see a blob shaped cloud

A/N: Sorry for the late update. I'll work harder at updating more frequently. Without further ado, chapter three!

* * *

It's been about a month since the carnival (best night ever!). A month of double dates with Roxas and her sister, Namine. Now it's time for round two: not double dates.

Yes, this was a boxing match. Thus far I'm winning.

I s on my way to her house to pick her up. Got everything all set for our date. Thank God the weather was complying.

I walked up to her house and knocked on the door. Namine answered.

"Let me guess, you want Kairi?" she asked.

You have no idea. Damn you hormones!  
"Uh, yeah. Is she ready?"

"hold on," she said as she turned. "Kairi!" She yelled from within the house. There was a muffled reply. "Your lover-boy is here!" She came back to the door. " She'll be down in a minute." With that, Namine left.

Well, aren't her hostessy skills awesome. She should right a book. Chapter one: Leave your sister's date standing on the porch like an annoying salesman. Yeah, every person's social bible right there.

After a few minutes of standing awkwardly on the porch, Kairi came to the door. She looked wonderful in her light blue sun dress with matching headband. They went with her eyes perfectly.

No, I am not a fruit. I just happen to notice things.

"Ready to go?" she asked, coming out onto the porch.

"Uh, yeah. You ready?" Hell, why was I so nervous? She's still the same Kairi whose name I couldn't pronounce, hence the Riri. She's still the same friend who I played tag with as a kid. Only she's grown up ...

All woman-y like ...

with a smile and laugh that melt my heart ...

... Why did my hands get all clammy?...

She giggled. "Let's go."

Breathe, Sora. Just breathe. Be a man.

I'm as good as screwed.

We began our walk down the street to the outskirts of town. Not far from her house at all. From there, we turned onto a dirt path into the woods.

"Where are we going?" Kairi asked.

"You'll see." We turned off onto another dirt path.

"We're going to the pond, aren't we," she said with a smirk. "Maybe I should have brought Mr. Floppy."

I chuckled. "You'll see."

She let out a slightly exasperated sigh and we continued our walk.

Eventually we came to a small clearing with a pond.

"I told ya we were go- awwwww!" Kairi said when she caught site of my morning's work.

At the bottom of the hill, near the pond, lay a blue blanket and on it was a picnic basket.

My idea, I swear. No help from Roxas or Namine.

Yes, I should get a cookie for that.

We crossed the distance to the blanket and sat down. The tree shaded us from the almost cloudless, sunny day.

"Your mom helped you," Kairi said. Not asked, said.

Damn, she found my loophole.

Ha ha. Loophole.

"She helped put things in the basket ... and bake. That's the whole of it. I did the rest myself, thank you very much."

Kairi laughed. "Oh really, then? Should we start calling you Susie Home-maker?" There was a teasing look in her eyes.

As long as I'm with you, I am home.

"As long as you don't mind lethal meals in a hovel," I teased.

"Should I be scared about what you have in that basket?" She tried to look genuinely afraid, but the smile remained in her eyes.

"The only thing that involved cooking was my mom's cookies. The rest required assembly only."

Now she looked confused. "What did you make?"

With a smirk, I reached into the basket and pulled out a plate with two sandwiches on it. "BB and J a la Sora." She laughed. I pulled out a bowl of pasta salad. "And sa- lad a la pasta!"

Kairi chuckled. "I see you worked hard on the cuisine for today."

"Oh, ho, ho," I said in a bad French accent. I'm not good with accents. "You have no idea, mon cherrie." She burst into laughter again. I chuckled, myself.

I set things out for our lunch while she laughed. When she regained her composure, she had a plate with a sandwich and pasta salad already on it and a glass of lemonade from the thermos i brought.

"Oh, well aren't you efficient," she teased.

"Why yes I am. Now, let's eat."

Our date ran smoothly. I didn't miss my mouth, than God, and no ants stole our food.

Ants a re a picnicer's nightmare.

The damn little bastards come in tiny hoards and steal everything. You never know they're there until half your lunch is gone.

Anyway, the picnic was great. We laughed, talked, joked, and over all had a great time. I wasn't much for picnics, but this one was alright.

"I love your mom's cookies," she said after a bite.

"I agree."

Kairi flopped back onto the blanket. "It's such a lovely day."

"That it is, that it is," I said. What do I do now?

Gah! I'm a lost cause.

"Sora, does that cloud look like a bunny to you?"

"Which one?" Seriously, there was a bunch of fluffy, blob- like clouds. None said 'I'm a cute little bunny rabbit' to me.

She grabbed my arm and pulled me down onto the blanket next to her.

"That one," she clarified, pointing my arm at the cloud in question.

"... It looks like a blob."

With an exasperated sigh, she sat up. "Put your head here," she said, pointing to the spot where here head was. Of course, I complied. She laid back down so that our heads were nearly touching. "the one right there," she said, again using my arm as a pointer.

"Oh! I see it now," I said.

"Really?" She sat up to look down at me as I studied the cloud. She looked kind of excited.

""Yeah, it looks like a fluffy blob." I smirked.

"Smart ass," she said, playfully hitting my arm.

I placed my hands behind my head and closed my eyes. Lounging in the sun is good. Nice and warm.

Suddenly, I took a slight hit to my chest. It didn't hurt, just startled me. I opened my eyes to find Kairi standing there looking at me with a teasing look in her eyes and a smile on her face.

"Guess what," she said.

I propped myself up on my elbows. "What?"

"Tag! You're it!" With that, she turned at ran off giggling.

I smirked and got up to chase after her. You can't run fast while laughing and I intended to prove it.

Hopefully, history would not repeat itself. I don't care much for swimming today.

I finally catch up to her. She turned back to see where I was.

Big mistake.

Her eyes went wide before she turned around and began to giggle again, slowing herself down.

Uh oh. I couldn't slow down! Damndamndamn!

Hello feet!

Of course, I stumbled over my own feet and went hurtling toward and unsuspecting Kairi.

And history repeated itself.

Damn.

Kairi and I collided and, wouldn't ya know it, on the hill. There was a slight upside, the pond was on the other side of the hill.

I tackled her, but managed to swing around so that my back took the impact. We began to roll down the hill. Believe me, I was trying my best not to crush her.

Oof!

Damn, that's a hard landing.

... That's not grass or ground below me ...

I propped myself up on my arms and opened my eyes.

I stared wide eyed in shock at Kairi, who was looking up at me in the same way.

Move! Move, damn it!

Gah! My limbs wouldn't move.

Sora. Move. Your. Damn. Limbs!

...

Nothing. Really? Ugh!

Her hair wa fanned out around her head and her arms were kinda sorta near her head.

I was surprised she didn't try to hit me.

Yet.

"Are you O.K.?

Was that seriously my voice? I could talk but I couldn't move? Damn it!

"Mhm," she replied, her vioce quiet. "Can you get off me now?"

Now I moved! And that was at the speed of light. Sheesh!

I helped her to her feet and chuckled a bit.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

Chuckling, I replied, "You have twigs and grass in your hair." With that, I began yo remove the bit of debris.

She scowled at me slightly, but not for long. Her face broke into a grin as she giggled. "Trying to start a forest up there? There's more in your hair than in the forest."

I brought a hand up to feel my hair and came in contact with twigs, leaves, and grass. "Well, hell. I'm a nature magnet." I grinned. Laughing, she picked the bits out of my hair.

* * *

We spent the rest of the afternoon talking and skipping rocks across the pond. After that, we picked up the stuff and began our walk home.

The picnic basket, with everything in it, was in one hand while Kairi hooked her arm with my other arm.

I was never really one for picnics. Sure, my folks would have them and they were dull. The most fun I had was playing with the ants.

What? The little bastards tried to take my pie. Heh, heh. Hello Mr. Magnifying Glass.

Anyway, picnics were alright wit hme. Hell, as long as I had Kairi on my arm, walking on hot coals would be alright.

She wouldn't be walking on the hot coals. That's not alright. You get my point. It made perfect sense to me.

Alright, attention back to the pretty girl on my arm. I'm guessing I'll have to see about a third date at some point. My best days keep getting replaced. Eh, who cares. Picnic with Kairi: Best day ever.


End file.
